Penn Manor High School is operating like normal schedule today after rumors circulated about gun threats in school.

According to Lancaster Online, a male student said on Thursday that he was going to bring a gun to school and use it against the administration. Another student heard the threat being made and reported it.

Currently, the student who made threats has been removed from school and faces disciplinary and legal action.

“If a situation like this happens, the first focus is safety for everyone. We may notify family, but there is a different method for every issue and if everyone needs to be aware. If students don’t need to be aware we will deal with it as a disciplinary action. If students don’t hear any news, just trust the administration,” said principal Dr. Phil Gale.

Students had a range of reactions about the rumors today.

“I didn’t know about it till after second block. My sister’s first block talked about it the whole period. I wasn’t nervous at all because other schools had bomb and shooting threats, and that was taken care of,” said senior Olivia Hertzler.

“I heard about it yesterday night. I saw something about a shooting on facebook, and then someone posted something about it on snapchat. I was kind of nervous. When I heard the kid was arrested, I wasn’t as scared. It was also good to see cops here,” said junior Candace Leaman.

“I wasn’t that nervous because some kids just say stuff and don’t mean it,” said junior Jaymie DeJesus.

“I heard about the threat on Facebook. Yes, I was nervous because I didn’t want to get shot. My one friend didn’t even come in because he didn’t want to risk it,” said junior Scott Thatcher.

“I was nervous when walking from my car when I saw the police car sitting outside administration that kind of made me a little nervous,” said junior Parker Wales.

“A kid on my bus said that there was a gun threat. Yes, I was nervous; nobody notified anybody. There wasn’t a call home and I didn’t find out about it till I was at school. My mom would of kept me home,” said junior Vincent Fiorella.

“I found out in first block, and I believe they had already caught him. I was nervous because it was right after the shooting in Oregon. I was stressed because we could be next,” said junior Zachary Holsinger.The district published a statement late Thursday night that acknowledged that an incident had been reported and dealt with.

School districts around Lancaster County have been receiving bomb threats. According to Lancaster Newspapers, students at Cocalico, Donegal, and Ephrata high schools were arrested due to the bomb threats. Incidents are still being investigated at Conestoga Valley High School, Lampeter Strasburg High School, and Smoketown Elementary in the Conestoga Valley School District.

On September 24, a male, 15, was charged with 20 counts of terroristic threats, causing false alarm, and three counts of making threats to use weapons of mass destruction. The charges including a total of 20 threats between September 10 and 16 with 13 schools involved. On September 30, a female student was arrested for making threats to Manheim Township High School by writing threats on the bathrooms stalls, which caused the school to be evacuated twice within a week.

“A shame it happens, and is such a waste of resources and energy,” said Dr. Phillip Gale.

Although there have been threats at a number of neighboring school districts, Penn Manor has been unaffected and administrators don’t expect an issue.

“I would like to think I know my students, so no.” said Officer Jason Hottenstein, school resource officer. “The reality is there is always a possibility, but as an administration we make sure we’re prepared, and have our policies in place, if it were to occur.”

“Its very concerning that that kind of behavior (is happening).” said Mr. Hottenstein.

But if a threat were to be made, the administration is prepared to keep Penn Manor faculty and students safe.

“We would follow the policy whatever the situation dictates. That could include evacuation, bomb sniffing dogs, and letters home.” Mr. Hottenstein said.

Mr. Hottenstein said the consequences for a student who made a threat would be a “criminal catastrophe.” “That’s 1,800 kids at risk from one threat that may not be true. Then there’s also the school side of it which would be the student being expelled.”

Students at Penn Manor High School are now allowed to use cell phones in the hallways between classes.

Students attending Penn Manor High School are now allowed to use their cell phones and other devices during the day.

The Penn Manor school board revised the cell phone policy to adjust to the the rise of technology. Students are now allowed to use cell phones during lunch and in the hallways. The student body is allowed to have one earbud in for music in the hallways. In case an emergency happens the student will still be able to hear and be in a more safe situation versus having both earbuds in.

The former policy was that students were only allowed to use their cell phones when permitted by teachers for school-related purposes.

Dr. Gale explained that the revision was needed.

“I felt it was necessary because (as an administration) we were saying here’s a laptop, but put your cell phone away.”

When asked their opinions, students reacted positively to the new cell phone policy.

“I think it was a good choice because people can wake up more by listening to music,” said sophomore Rayssa Velez.

“I believe the environment has changed in the hallway. People who listen to music are more tolerable of others,” said senior Angela Wood.

Out of the students’ questioned most agreed that they gained respect for the principals and Penn Manor faculty for reevaluating the cell phone policy.

“I did gain respect for the principals and faculty, because it shows that they trust us more, and that they have the expectation for us be responsible,” said senior Olivia Hertzler.

“I gained respect because it showed that they cared what the students had to say, worked together, and constructed a new policy,” said senior Daniel Bleacher.

Teachers also commonly agreed that the revision of the cell phone policy was essential here at Penn Manor.

“The new policy is fair and reasonable. I’m not anti-technology I’m just anti- distraction,” said English teacher Mrs. Saylor.

Teachers have the choice to have a cell phone free zone sign in their classroom.

Mr. Staub poses with his no-cell-phone sign.

Math teacher Mr. Staub is one of the many teachers who decided to display a cell phone free classroom sign. He explained that he had the sign, “… as a reminder to not have cell phones out.”

English teacher Dr. McGough does not display a sign that doesn’t allow cell phones.

“No, never have. I encouraged students to bring your own devices (B.Y.O.D) before the school provided laptops.” He also had a positive outlook about the new policy. “[The school has]… started to recognize handheld and digital devices in our everyday lives.”

Teachers were also asked if the students’ overall attitudes changed since the new policy was put into place. All of the teachers asked thought the students’ attitudes did not change.

In order to make the revision many opinions were considered, and discussed.

Dr. Gale explained how the decision was made. “[We] talked as an administration team, met with students and surveyed teachers.”

Despite the positive comments, some don’t believe the policy will stay the same for long.

Dr. McGough stated that although he thought the policy was fair for the teachers, faculty, and students, “ (the policy will)… continue to evolve as things change. As technology changes the policy has to change.”

The smell of cheeseburgers and hot dogs filled the late summer air at Penn Manor High School as students filed into the parking deck for tailgating, food and activities.Comet Nation, (Penn Manor’s student section) was rated the #1 fan base by PennLive.com in the Lancaster-Lebanon League last year and plan to be nothing but better, crazier and louder. As the Comet Boys (seniors Jesse Kann, Nate Flexman, Andrew Figlio, Sam Lombardo, Ryan Gaukler, Will Forrey and Reed Blazer) took their places in the stands, the crowd grew louder.

The Penn Manor Comets hosted their first home football game on Friday, September 4 against the Cedar Cliff Colts. Penn Manor’s new head coach gave a pep talk to Comet Nation telling them to be loud and stay in the game.

This is John Brubaker’s first year as Penn Manor’s head coach; Brubaker was previously the defensive coordinator at Manheim Central. Penn Manor brought in a whole new coaching staff this year except for assistant varsity coach, Jared Shearer.

Lancaster Red Rose Colorguard brought the American flag on the field because of the USA-themed night. After the opening coin flip in the center of Chryst Field, Cedar Cliff kicked off to Penn Manor. With seniors Blaine Richardson and Jamal McCaskell back to return the kick, Richardson snagged the ball, then wrapped up after 10 yards of running in the middle of the field.

Penn Manor had a tough first drive trying to figure out Cedar Cliff’s defense. Cedar Cliff on the other hand was ready for what Penn Manor had to offer, delivering a 10-play, 62-yard scoring drive to score early in the game. Richardson and McCaskell set back to return the kick again. This time though, Richardson weaved through CC’s special team unit with ease, turning on the burners taking the return to CC’s 47 yard line. Richardson left the game later in the second half due to a knee injury.

Marcos Nina took his spot as a kick returner. The drive was then ended with a halt when junior, Grant Gale tossed an interception (one of three). The Colts then turned that drive into a touchdown, but missed the field goal, making the score 13-0 with 10:55 left in the second quarter.

During the entire game, Comet Nation stayed roaring.

“The student section is getting very loud, the freshman need to get rowdy and into the game,” said Comet Boy, Jesse Kann.

Jamal McCaskell kept trying to break through the defense. Eventually he did, leaving a Colts defender and others in the turf after breaking their ankles and gaining big yardage on his first major carry late in the first half. The drive was ended again by the Colt’s secondary, and their offense converted a turnover into another touchdown to make it 26-0 at halftime.

Eventually, PM got on the scoreboard with an 8-play, 80-yard scoring drive that was topped off by running back Carter Kinser (six carries, 43 rushing yards, three TDs) going untouched into the endzone. PM missed the extra point following the touchdown.

Seeking redemption after another CC touchdown, Gale, Kinser and McCaskell took the field. Gale threw a textbook screen pass to Kinser where Kinser did the rest of the work, shredding between defenders making it a 46 yard completion.

Cedar Cliff’s offense continued to be powerful late into the game, but the Comet’s defense slowed down the bleeding, making big time stops. As Penn Manor’s offense began to heat up, the Colt’s defense began the die down. Kinser and Gale began to click, as Kinser picked up his third touchdown of the day in the early fourth quarter, punching through the Colt’s defensive line. The Comets fell to the Colts 54-20 as a final result.

Jamal McCaskell had a big game as well, racking up 104 rushing yards on 16 carries. Cedar Cliff finished the game with 518 total offensive yards on 54 plays. The Comets, on the other hand, finish with 313 total offensive yards on 47 plays. The Colts key players were junior quarterback Grant Breneman (12-of-15, 254 passing yards, two TDs) and senior receiver Miki Viti, (six receptions, 142 yards, one TD).

Penn Manor will take on Lampeter Strasburg next Friday night for their first away game this fall.

“We’re experiencing record cold temperatures here. Yeah right, global warming.” “If I still have to wear a winter coat at the end of March, I can’t believe global warming.” “Climate change is a natural occurrence, the climate of earth has changed many times over its history. It’s no big deal.”

Ugh.

Climate change (yes, ‘climate change’, referring to the total changing of earth’s climate, not just temperatures) is not a myth, as 97 percent of climate scientists would agree. Climate change can most likely be chalked up to human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels and emitting harmful gases into the air, as most of you know. Unfortunately, though, some people still have the audacity to deny it altogether, solely based on the fact that it was absolutely freezing this winter on the East coast. To that, I would have to use one very simple fact to make you think differently: Ever since temperatures had been officially and accurately recorded, 13 of the 14 hottest years on record have occurred in the 21st century, according to the Weather Channel. The other one? That one occurred in 1998.

There are many different misconceptions about climate change, some absolutely wrong and some close to being right. The most important one is the fact that “Climate Change” and “Global Warming” are interchangeable. This is partly right, considering that average global temperatures are rising, so calling it “global warming” is technically correct. But the term “climate change” includes not only the temperatures, but also evidence of climate change like increasing ocean acidity, more intense storms, and rising sea levels, among others (rising sea levels are due to the ocean water becoming warmer, therefore expanding, not just polar ice melting).

Another inaccurate but popular response to climate change is the fact that climate trends are common in the history of the earth, and we’re just experiencing another one. Well, this one is a little bit better because it at least admits that the Earth’s climate is in fact changing. But, this idea is still inaccurate. Carbon dioxide is being put into the atmosphere at unprecedented levels. For 650,000 years prior to 1950, carbon dioxide never made up more than 300 parts per million in the atmosphere. It reached that level in 1950, and today, it’s all the way up to just more than 400 parts per million. CO2 has already been proven to trap heat, so the alarming increase of temperatures on Earth can most definitely be chalked up to the trapping of heat due to CO2 emissions.

Furthermore, there is a small chance, but still a chance that you hear the misunderstood statement that the environment puts more pollution into the air than humans. This is also true, considering natural ocean and land processes put CO2 into the air at a rate of 780 gigatons per year. However, Earth’s land and its oceans also take in about 780 gigatons of CO2 per year, so it equals out. But now, humans emit 30 gigatons of pollution per year, which throws the balance off.

If we continue to deny or push aside the problem of climate change, the Earth will experience sea level rise, more natural disasters, global temperature rise, increased oceanic acidity, and many other harmful consequences of our carelessness. I’m not trying to turn this into a political debate, but it should be known that Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has publically stated that many alarmists on global warming, “got a problem ‘cause the science doesn’t back them up. And in particular, satellite data demonstrate for the last 17 years, there’s been zero warming. None whatsoever. It’s why — you remember how it used to be called ‘global warming’ and then magically the theory changed to ‘climate change’?” Oh Ted. Before this, he states that, “Today, the global warming alarmists are the equivalent of the flat-Earthers. It used to be [that] it is accepted scientific wisdom the Earth is flat, and this heretic named Galileo was branded a denier.”

Senator Cruz, Galileo had nothing to do with proving the theory of Earth being flat as wrong. Ninety-seven percent of climate scientists agree on the issue of climate change, and disagree with your opinion. Meanwhile, the flat-Earth idea was widely denied in Galileo’s time. In fact, in 200 B.C., Greek mathematician Eritosthanes calculated the circumference of the Earth. Circumference, as in circles.

It may not seem like that big of a problem today, but I would rather address it now than leave it up to our generation to figure out a massively devastating issue 30 years from now.

According to “Fast Facts: U.S. Animal Shelters”, an article from “petfinder.com”, due to a lack of pet adoption, approximately 50 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats in shelters are “destroyed”. What is the best way to help these animals? The answer is fairly simple: to consider pet adoption yourself.

I am a volunteer for Pet Guardians, a non profit pet adoption organization in Lancaster. According to the Pet Guardians website, the organization’s mission statement is “…to seek homes for pets that belong to patients who are terminally ill. We will do our best to find safe homes for the beloved pets of elderly people or those with a life- threatening illness.”

There is no adoption fee; however, all of the new pet adopters are thoroughly screened, and Pet Guardians does a home visit to make sure it is going to be a good match for the pet.

Dr. Debra Vredenburg, the founder of Pet Guardians, emphasized the importance of her organization’s cause.

“There’s definitely a need for people to consider adopting an older pet; they still have a lot of love to give,” said Vredenburg. “The main goal is to keep that bond between the previous owner and the pet alive, and often times the new owner will take the pet to the retirement home to visit its previous owner.”

Laura, a foster for Pet Guardians, stresses the importance of foster homes as an alternative to the shelters that are not able to accept the thousands of animals a day who need a home.

“Each and every one was a wonderful cat, worthy of being saved and who just needed a temporary place until their forever home was found.”

Laura recollects the story of an older gentleman named “Daddy Ray” and an older cat named Maise. Laura was worried that Maise would not find a home because of her old age, but when the cat met “Daddy Ray”, Laura described the scene as “magical” because the cat was able to fill a “huge hole in Daddy Ray’s heart and the two became inseparable”.

“The Health Benefits of Companion Animals”, article by “Pets Are Wonderful Support”, describes the benefits of owning a pet: animals can help improve one’s cardiovascular health, stress levels, and social interactions, along with reducing one’s feelings of loneliness and depression. The article also shows that owning a pet has been found to reduce anxiety and aggression within Alzheimer’s patients, and that owning a pet has been shown to provide emotional support for females who “have suffered physical abuse”.

The article “adoption guide: Dog” by The Pedigree Adoption Drive gives some advice for making the adoption process easier. Potential owners should properly account for the costs of the animal before the adoption is finalized, including the cost of “food, leashes, collars, toys, grooming supplies, bedding, medical treatment and other things a new [pet] requires.”

The article “What to Consider Before Adopting a Pet” by Homeward Pet Adoption Center also describes the importance of considering the time required to take care of a pet, for a pet will need your assistance with “…exercise, care, and companionship every day of every year.” The article also explains why it is essential for a pet owner to accept the “special problems that a pet can cause;” pet hair and scratched up furniture are always a risk of adopting a pet.

If you first consider the responsibilities required that go along with being a pet owner, pet adoption certainly is a meaningful choice.

Penn Manor Athletic Director Jeff Roth announced John Brubaker as Penn Manor’s 10th head football coach on March 17, about eight weeks after former coach Todd Mealy announced his resignation to focus on family and his upcoming doctorate degree.

While coach Mealy’s resignation was disappointing for the Penn Manor football community, new coach John Brubaker has a very strong résumé. A 1983 graduate of Manheim Central and a three-year starting running back for the Barons, Brubaker holds school records for career rushing yards (2,919), and rushes in a game (37) and season (258). He was also selected to play in the 1982 Big 33 All-Star Football game.

Brubaker comes from a successful culture as a coach, too, as the Barons made it to the state title game three different times when he was a defensive coordinator, winning one of them. The team won 16 District Three Class AAA titles during his tenure as an assistant. Brubaker brings experience, both as a coach and player.

Sophomore Grant Gale says about Brubaker, “On the field, he’s done an excellent job with their defense, and by scrimmaging them the past two years, I can tell he’s a very intense coach. Off the field, he’s a completely different person: fun to be around and easy to talk to.”

There are many similarities between Coach Mealy and Coach Brubaker. First, they both had very successful careers on the field; Mealy won a state championship in 1995 as a linebacker for Bishop McDevitt. Brubaker saw personal success, with the aforementioned records that he holds at Central and Big 33 selection.

About coach Brubaker, Dan Mahoney says, “He has stepped right into our workouts and is beginning to take charge.”

Football at Penn Manor has an interesting history. Not only was Penn Manor one of the last schools in the county to establish varsity football (1971), the Comets also had a 33-game losing streak that was featured on ESPN in the ‘90s and have won just two section championships in the 43 years of varsity football (‘74 and ‘84).

But just because the East Gym won’t show the winning tradition in the past several years doesn’t mean Penn Manor hasn’t had one. Wilson High School’s dominance over Mealy’s tenure hindered the Comets’ chances at a Section 1 title. Penn Manor lost three games within seven points to perennial Section 1 powerhouse Wilson.

When Todd Mealy took over the program in 2007, Penn Manor football was in a rough spot. Before he came, the Comets were frequently at the bottom of the LL-League rankings. While they did see a District playoff appearance in 2006, the 2007 squad managed only one win and nine losses.

Penn Manor would go on to compile a 55-24 record over Mealy’s next seven years. They also ranked fourth in District 3 AAAA in wins over those years. To put it into perspective, Penn Manor had a record of 142-229-2 over 38 years before Mealy became head coach, good for a mediocre 38 percent winning percentage. After Mealy’s first season, the Comets compiled a 70 percent winning percentage. Quite a few accomplishments, but his impact wasn’t just off the field, as the football team maintained a 3.4 grade-point average over his tenure.

One would think that this man would be able to withstand a coup from math teacher Doug Kramer; however Kramer was able to overthrow Dr. Gale on April 1.

By Matt Tulli

Penn Manor math teacher Doug Kramer announces he will be taking over as head high school principal, effective tomorrow. Current principal Philip Gale’s tenure will end today, April 1, 2015.

After just under six years at the helm of the high school, Gale’s position will be overtaken immediately.

Though it may seem like a coup d’etat, Kramer insists that he thought he was the right man to take the position ever since it opened up in 2009.

Under Phil Gale, state-wide standardized testing scores have been well above state average. Also, over 70 percent of students have pursued post-secondary education, and student dropout rate has been far below state average.

“Mr. Kramer is going to make a good principal. He always comes to work with a positive attitude and is always willing to help any student who needs it,” remarked a Penn Manor sophomore.

Doug Kramer has taught math to students of all ages, ranging from ninth to twelfth grade, so he has experience with kids of all ages.

“Well, I would say it’s a good decision but I’m just not sure how kid-friendly Mr. Kramer is. Everyday I would come out of his classroom with a headache from his lessons. Who even needs to know what the asymptote is of the trinomial on the board, or the sine of negative two-thirds pi?” remarked another Penn Manor student.

“Dr. Gale can sometimes be intimidating, and Mr. Kramer just doesn’t come off as that. I think that’s a good thing,” explained another student.

For this basketball season, I was lucky enough to get two pairs of basketball shoes: One for practices, and one for games. Sometimes I’ll wear my game shoes to practice but I try to keep them as clean and in good condition as possible. I asked my parents if I could get two pairs before the season started, and they agreed, in part because I told them I’d promise to take good care of them, but also because I got them both at discounted prices; one through the basketball team shoe sale, and the other with a coupon I found (well, it was for free shipping but it still counts).

I am completely grateful for the things my parents provide for me and I realize I am lucky to have been able to get these two pairs of shoes, and my parents were not struggling to afford them. I’m grateful because I realize there are families out there that are saving up and digging into their pockets to pay for basketball shoes for their sons and daughters. And in some cases, the kids themselves are required to pay for them.

This is where the problem comes in for many people with regard to these multi-billion dollar companies charging upwards of $160 dollars for a pair of shoes for aspiring basketball players, who may not even make the team this year. And even more than that, the shoes aren’t even durable enough to last a full calendar year with all the open gyms and basketball workouts coaches are holding nowadays (and I’m not blaming this on the basketball shoe manufacturers).

Although it is unclear exactly how much money it costs Nike to produce one pair of shoes (materials, labor, shipping, packaging costs), we can assume based on a study by the Portland Business Journal that one pair of regular, $100 shoes costs Nike about $28.50 to manufacture. Nike then sells these to retailers at around $50 for around a $12 to $13 profit. This is called the wholesale price. Then, the retailers mark the price up usually 100 percent.

One hundred percent.

Fifty dollars marked up 100 percent is $100.

So, it’s the retailers who are making us shell out all this money?

Well, no. You see, retailers are businesses too. They need to make money to keep their businesses going. That’s why the J.Crew Factory Store can get away with 60 percent off the entire store plus 15 percent off after Christmas. They aren’t a separate business, as the J.Crew Factory Store manufactures their goods and sells them directly to the consumer, eliminating the “middle man” of another store.

These retailers, such as Dick’s Sporting Goods, Foot Locker or Nordstrom need to make money too, for rent, marketing and profit. The manufacturers need these retailers to market and sell their products. That’s why retail stores can be so lucrative.

But, that brings up the issue of Nike.com, and why Nike can get away with selling Kobe 9 Elite shoes for $225 when they don’t have to sell it to a retailer. Well, basically, the price is always going to be the same, whether at a retail store or outlet store. If not, why would consumers spend money at retail stores instead of buying them for a cheaper price at an outlet store? The fact is, Nike really wants you to buy apparel, especially basketball shoes, straight from Nike.com, because they’re able to eliminate the “middle man”: retailers. So, instead of making the small profit of when retailers buy their products in order to resell them, they can just sell the product at the ridiculous retail price for a larger profit.

There are multiple reasons why prices of basketball shoes are going up. These include inflation (about .8 percent per year during the past decade according to inflationdata.com), demand for these popular shoes, and other smaller factors such as the cost to advertise for these shoes, and newer technologies being introduced into basketball shoes. High-end athletes are asking more and more money for these contracts: Superstar Kevin Durant recently signed a $300 million deal to stay with Nike, for example.

So, in review: While people may not like the prices of basketball shoes (myself included), it is what it is. Prices of shoes can be justified by demand for shoes, inflation, and other aforementioned factors. If shoes are going to sell at a high price, Nike is going to continue to sell them at a high price. If nobody buys the shoes, then Nike will have to sell them at a lower price. But that doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen anytime soon.

Nike.com and Nike iD (where buyers can customize shoes to their liking) are where Nike makes most profit. When selling to a retail store such as Dick’s Sporting Goods, Nike sells the shoes to them for about 50 percent of their retail value, then are marked up by the retailers. While these retailers may seem like the main culprit, they are businesses too and must make money to stay in business; this is achieved by marking up the shoes.

Before February 1, it had been an entire decade since the New England Patriots last won a Super Bowl. It seems amazing, considering the Patriots are perennial championship contenders when January rolls around. They had lost both of their two previous Super Bowl trips to the New York Giants, one in Super Bowl XLII (2008) and the other loss coming in Super Bowl XLVI (2012).

Patriots undrafted rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler picked off Russell Wilson from the one-yard line with 20 ticks left in the game on a controversial play call for his first career interception. Amazing, also considering that Brown is listed as the fifth cornerback on New England’s depth chart.

“I thought the Seahawks would win, especially at halftime after that touchdown drive, said sophomore Jeff Taylor. “And I thought [Seahawks all-pro running back] Lynch would just score on a run at the end.”

But, that’s about the exact opposite of what happened. While many people were criticizing the choice to pass the ball on the one-yard line instead of run, senior Tanner Erisman had a different thought.

“I understand why they passed it, if the pass would be incomplete, then the clock would stop and they would have time to reorganize,” said Erisman. “But I still would have run it. There’s no chance the Patriots were gonna stop him three times.”

When asked for one word to describe the Super Bowl, junior Eric Snyder said, “amazing.” Junior Nate Brown, who was rooting for the Seahawks said, “crazy.” Jeff Taylor said, “unreal.”

It seemed like, according to Twitter and talking with a lot of friends, a lot of people were rooting for the Seahawks. I heard a lot of reasons why, from “I like the way the Seahawks play” to “The Patriots win too much”. But the obvious number one reason would be “DeflateGate”, or the allegation that the Patriots deflated their footballs in the AFC Championship game to make them easier to play with.

But lets be honest, the score of the AFC Championship was 45-7. The Patriots would have won the game with a bowling ball. And that’s all I’m going to say about it.

Three interesting statistics from the Super Bowl:

League-wide this season, quarterbacks have thrown 109 passes from the one-yard line. Malcolm Brown’s interception was the first time one of those passes was intercepted, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Per sbnation.com, none of the Super Bowl XLIX starters were 5-star recruits coming out of high school. Only seven of them were 4-star recruits, and the other 37 were 3-star or less, or not ranked at all. So for all you athletes out there: Never give up on your dream.

Lastly, Super Bowl XLIX was the most-watched American TV program ever, with and estimated 114.5 million people watching.